Connecting with Nature: an Educational Guide for Grades Four to Six Acknowlegements
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Connecting With Nature: An educational guide for grades four to six Acknowlegements The educational resource Connecting With Nature was developed by: Authors: David Suzuki Foundation, Schulich School of Education, Nipissing University, Brantford and North Bay Campus Publishing and editing: David Suzuki Foundation Photography: iStockphotos and Creative Commons images Artwork: Giant Ant Media Graphic design: David Suzuki Foundation Project managers: Leanne Clare (David Suzuki Foundation), Jenny Guibert (Schulich School of Education, Nipissing University) Staff: Rachelle Delaney, Mel Lefebvre, Gail Mainster, Shannon Moore Interns: Sarah Austin, Brittany Burdett, Heather Gauthier, Lara Hughes, Sarah Krzyzek, Brittany Perry, Jordan Tamblyn , Carol Tsang, Austin Vanlierop The David Suzuki Foundation applauds the hard work and dedication of hundreds of students and faculty at Nipissing University’s Schulich School of Education who helped re-create this guide. Their contributions made this resource easy to use and lots of fun for students. We hope this resource inspires more young people to explore all the wonders that nature has to offer. Special thanks to: ● Dr. Sharon Rich, Dean, Schulich School of Education ● Dr. Maria Cantalini-Williams, Associate Dean (Interim), Schulich School of Education ● Dr. John Vitale and his students in Primary / Junior Social Studies and Junior / Intermediate Social Studies ● Dr. Astrid Steele and her students in Junior / Intermediate Science ● Alysha Cory and Melissa Nucci, teacher-candidate volunteers ● Andrea Cousineau and the staff at the Laboratory School at the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute for Child Study. Connecting With Nature is based and built on The Nature Challenge Teacher’s Guide published by the David Suzuki Foundation in 2006. This educational resource would not exist without all of the hard work that went into that original guide. Special thanks to G. Raymond Chang and family for providing the funding for this project. ISBN 978-1-897375-47-1 Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data for this book is available through the National Library of Canada.This report can be downloaded free of charge at: davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/connecting-with-nature-education-guide/ Suite 219, 2211 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V6K 4S2 Toll-free: 1-800-453-1533 [email protected] davidsuzuki.org Connecting With Nature: An educational guide for grades four to six Visit davidsuzuki.org/youthandnature Contents Educational resources H: Gone with the wind 66 Introduction 3 I: In limbo 76 Quick start guide 4 J: Down the drain 86 Key concepts 5 K: Getting there 94 Lessons 6 L: What’s inside your personal Lessons described 8 care products? 102 Choosing lessons 13 M: Round the year 115 The power of collective action N: Where’s the beef? 121 through a class foundation 14 O: Greenbelt game show 126 Dealing with controversy 14 P: A celebration of nature 139 Taking it home 15 Lesson resources Parent letter 16 Glossary 141 Further reading 17 Ontario Curriculum Lessons learning skills checklist • Grade 4 145 Class foundation 18 • Grade 5 152 Foundation role descriptions 21 • Grade 6 157 Foundation role sign-up sheets 22 Assessment overview 163 A: Walkabout 23 Technology overview 164 B: Barnyard in my classroom 28 Student achievement chart 165 C: Who is David Suzuki? 31 Arts rubric 167 D: Living within the limits of nature 36 Oral communication rubric 169 E: Classroom landfill 45 Peer assessment / Self-assessment 170 F: The powerful pollinators 53 Anecdotal notes organizer 171 G: Celebrating biodiversity 61 3 Introduction Two common requests we get at the David Suzuki Foundation are for David Suzuki to speak to schools and for ideas on what young people can do to help protect nature. Science hasn’t figured out how to clone 1,000 different David Suzukis to meet all of those speaking requests. But we have crafted this educator’s resource to help children explore their profound connection to nature and experience the power of collective action. The eminent Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson coined the term biophilia, referring to our need to affiliate with other speciesbio ( = life; philia = love). He believes this need is built into our genes, a reflection of our evolutionary roots. You can see biophilia in young children and their curiosity about the natural world around them. Connecting children with nature in thei everyday lives is the first step in an environmental education. That’s why this guide encourages students to get outside in every lesson and capitalize on that curiosity. Studies have shown that spending time in nature helps with recall and memory, Our children have exchanged problem solving, and creativity. Children the experience of outdoors (and adults) who spend more time outside and nature with the enclosed are also physically healthier. world of electronics. This is disturbing because a person for Each day we face a barrage of stories about whom nature is a stranger will environmental risks and disasters, vanishing not notice, let alone care about, wilderness, and endangered species. This environmental degradation. resource explores many of those issues and — David Suzuki helps students understand how they are connected with nature, the impact of their actions on nature, and how they can take action to bring about positive change. If we want to protect the natural world on which our survival depends, we must learn that we are a part of it, and we must encourage our children to appreciate its wonders. As you work through the lesson plans with your students, encourage creativity and act as a role model by being as engaged as possible in the outdoor activities and sharing your own personal experiences with nature. The David Suzuki Foundation is a science-based organization committed to helping Canadians act on the understanding that we are all interconnected and interdependent with nature — and each other. Helping young people develop a love of nature is key to achieving that vision. 4 Quick start guide Connecting With Nature is aligned with Acting Today, Shaping Tomorrow, the Ontario Ministry of Education’s policy framework for environmental education. It is designed to help students understand how their daily choices affect nature. There are 16 cross- curricular lessons in the educational resource, each comprising idea / activity-based learning that inspires environmental stewardship in both the classroom and beyond, culminating in a celebration of all they have learned. In addition, students have the opportunity, through inquiry-based learning, to create their own “class foundation” focused on their collective interests and actions. For more information on the class foundation, see p. 18. The introductory lessons establish clarity around students’ existing knowledge and the idea that everything is connected to nature. The core lessons explore more specific topics and ideas and the value of nature. Overall, this resource helps students become more aware of how to live within the limits of nature. These lessons are suitable for children in grades four through six. There is an indoor and outdoor component to each lesson. Teacher tips are provided as well as technology suggestions that offer alternative approaches for different grade levels or learning styles. The technology components may be used to enhance students’ learning and foster a deeper connection with nature. Every lesson includes a guiding question and a set of reflection questions that help bring the ideas together and allow students to consolidate their learning. Throughout the resource, students are encouraged to question information and sources in their search for meaning and form their own conclusions and justify their perspectives. In designing the lessons, preference was given to activities that are fun, hands-on, and thought provoking. We encourage you to combine the information in this guide with other resources that you find relevant to the needs of your students, including other activities, guides, books, magazine articles, newspapers, and Internet posts. A list of resources accompanies each lesson to assist you with this research. To reduce the footprint of this resource, please use LCD / overhead projectors and Smart Boards to share the background information in each lesson with your students. Connecting With Nature will help your students discover that, collectively, they can make a difference by taking a conscious and active role in protecting nature. Through their participation in the activities, they will have opportunities to share what they are learning with their fellow students, family, and community members. 5 Key concepts Connect with nature. Children will feel compelled to protect what they understand and feel connected to. Because we learn best by experiencing and doing, spending time outside is the best way to begin to foster children’s relationship with nature. Everything in nature is connected. As biological creatures, humans depend on clean air, clean water, clean soil, and clean energy, as well as a variety of plants and animals (called biodiversity) for our well-being and survival. We are linked to nature by what we buy, how we get around, what we eat, and where we live. Nature is valuable. Although many Canadians recognize the importance of the environment to their well- being, the services that nature provides are often not accounted for. For example, trees clean our air and forests, and wetlands filter our water. Green urban spaces absorb carbon, cool our cities, and protect us from storms. It would be expensive to develop and build facilities to replace these ecosystem services. Live within the limits of nature. Everything we do has an impact on nature. Air, water, and land are finite resources, and we cannot create a bigger planet to accommodate our growing population. Therefore, we must begin to live within the limits of nature or face consequences like climate change and resource scarcities. Change is all about personal decisions and collective action. We all play a part in making change. There are little everyday actions and choices we can make that can have a profound impact on nature.